What is a Closing Quote?
A closing quote is the trading price of a security at the end of the trading day.
Closing Quote Definition
The New York Stock Exchange has the most famous closing bell (so famous that the term has a service mark). At 4 p.m. Eastern time, the closing bell rings. At that time, the last bid and ask price for each security on the exchange becomes the closing quote.
Why Do Closing Quotes Matter?
The closing quote does not necessarily mean the end of all trading in a security for the day. In fact, it simply means the floor of the exchange is closed. After-hours markets remain open, as do exchanges in other countries and time zones, which provides opportunity for the price to change.